Yang Su’s protests were useless.

Shen Qingwu simply informed him, paying no attention to his objections, and strode off. Yang Su felt distinctly sour about it, but he’d always known that once Shen Qingwu dug in her heels, nothing could move her.

He simply couldn’t understand it—

She’d clearly said before that she was done with Zhang Xingjian!

The moment Zhang Xingjian showed up, crying and carrying on and threatening dramatics, she got coaxed right back into a spin.

Someone so easily led astray by a pretty face was never going to accomplish anything great!

Setting aside how angry Yang Su was over it, Zhang Xingjian was exceptionally pleased with Shen Qingwu’s behavior.

He’d already known that if she agreed to be with him, she’d side with him. But he’d still harbored some uncertainty in his heart—he’d even braced himself for the possibility that Shen Qingwu might run off with Yang Su instead… the pleasant surprise Shen Qingwu had given him made him send Chang Lin and the others hurrying back to Dongjing without a moment’s delay.

These past few days, Zhang Xingjian had been treating Shen Qingwu extremely well.

Once he’d retrieved his own men and no longer needed to worry about their day-to-day survival, he could finally go back to being that elegant, handsome young man who never so much as touched menial labor.

He was a man of meticulous mind and many tricks, and skilled besides at flattery, and Shen Qingwu really had been charmed half out of her senses by him. It was only through sheer force of will that she remembered she needed to go report back to the Imperial Princess.

Zhang Xingjian insisted on dressing her in new clothes every single day.

Shen Qingwu was astonished: “You have money now?!”

Zhang Xingjian smiled brightly: “That’s right.”

He seized the opportunity to promote himself: “My parasol tree, I don’t mean anything by this, I just want to mention—if you marry me, you’ll never have to worry about food, clothing, or daily necessities. Our family doesn’t want for any of that, and I’ll take good care of you.”

He said this while using a fine-toothed comb to arrange Shen Qingwu’s hair.

By his own account, her hair was coarse and stiff, and couldn’t be tugged carelessly—it needed to be combed through gently, with care.

Shen Qingwu thought of his own hair, thick and black and soft, and something stirred in her; she let Zhang Xingjian fuss over her hair without complaint. Besides, he studied a different woman’s hairstyle every day, which Shen Qingwu found rather amusing.

Still, the mention of money…

Shen Qingwu glanced sidelong at him through the bronze mirror and said: “You’re trying to lure me into marrying you again.”

Zhang Xingjian’s eyes curved.

His eyes were like a cup brimming with clear glass, and when they curved they filled with light, transparent and lovely: “I wouldn’t call it luring you. Just being honest with you, in case you haven’t thought it through.”

Shen Qingwu ignored him.

He bent down, studying her closely: “My parasol tree.”

He called her twice before her gaze finally shifted, glancing up at him from beneath her lids.

Zhang Xingjian said: “Unhappy about something?”

Shen Qingwu said: “No. I was thinking about something…”

She rested her chin on her hand, brow lightly furrowed, genuinely hesitating over the matter: “Should I be handing my monthly stipend over to you?”

Zhang Xingjian froze.

Shen Qingwu said: “I can’t just eat and drink off you for free. Bo—er, someone once told me that isn’t right. You spend a considerable amount of money every day, and I shouldn’t be contributing nothing at all.”

Zhang Xingjian blinked.

A flicker of light passed through his eyes, and he genuinely began to consider it: “Hmm, you’re a woman—by rights, even when a woman marries into a family, there’s no custom of her handing her dowry over to her husband. My second sister says a woman’s dowry belongs to her alone, and our family shouldn’t touch anyone else’s money. But… your situation is different from an ordinary woman’s.

“You hold an official post, and draw a salary. I’ve heard that in ordinary households, when a couple marries, the earning husband hands his money over to his wife to manage—that’s how a marriage stays loving, how the bond endures. But our situation is still different from that.

“First, we’re not married. Second, I don’t covet that little bit of money of yours. Third, even if I don’t covet it, my parasol tree doesn’t seem particularly skilled at managing such things, and traveling together as we have, I’ve genuinely spent without much restraint…

“Here’s what we’ll do—you can hand your money over to me, so it’s not as if you’re eating and lodging for free. We eat and lodge together, you contribute your share, I’ll sort out the expenses—it’ll help deepen the bond between us too. Any objections?”

Zhang Xingjian thought to himself: if he controlled her money, the odds of her doing anything reckless would drop even further.

At the very least… ahem, if he wasn’t careful, she wouldn’t have money to go out drinking and carousing.

Shen Qingwu had no objection: “Fine.”

Seeing she made no move, Zhang Xingjian raised an eyebrow.

Shen Qingwu said, matter-of-fact: “I’ll pay you back once I get my monthly stipend.”

Zhang Xingjian froze.

Then it dawned on him: “You’ve been running yourself ragged for Li Linggo for a whole year, and she hasn’t even paid your salary?”

Shen Qingwu said: “She’s rather short on funds—keeping an army fed costs a great deal. She’s constantly worried about money, and seeing how hard she works, I told her not to bother paying me for now. I’m in the barracks every day anyway, and even when I go out, it’s on official business, so I don’t spend much. Li Linggo already owes me quite a bit in back pay—I’ll ask for it once her finances loosen up.”

Zhang Xingjian bent down, pinched her cheek, his expression somewhere between a smile and not: “Who was it who said our parasol tree had no heart? This is downright loyal and devoted.”

He shifted the subject: “But going forward, don’t forget to ask her for what you’re owed.”

What he meant was that Shen Qingwu shouldn’t be feeding Li Linggo’s greed.

Shen Qingwu nodded, though her meaning was something else entirely: “Naturally. If I’m going to start a household, I can’t shortchange my own husband.”

Zhang Xingjian looked down at her, eyes lowered.

There was a smile in his eyes, his brows and eyes stretched long like distant blue-green mountains and white water, his expression captivating.

He didn’t say it aloud, but those eyes of his—the kind that could look tenderly even at a dog—had already made his meaning plain: Husband? Hm, and who exactly is your husband?

Shen Qingwu’s eyes darted away. A rare flicker of nervousness and shyness made her turn to look in the mirror instead, avoiding Zhang Xingjian’s question.

Zhang Xingjian, as always, knew when to quit while ahead, and never pushed the matter to make things difficult for her.

Once he’d finished arranging her hair, Shen Qingwu found herself particularly fond of today’s style, swept to one side. She turned this way and that to admire it, even walking a few steps with her hands clasped behind her back.

She praised Zhang Xingjian: “You’re getting better and better at this.”

Then Shen Qingwu added, regretful: “But I can’t keep playing dress-up like this. Starting tomorrow I won’t be wearing women’s clothes anymore—we need to hurry on our way, and these skirts are too inconvenient for travel. It’d be a shame if I tore them.”

Zhang Xingjian nodded.

To Shen Qingwu’s surprise, the next day, the clothes Zhang Xingjian brought her to wear were still feminine in style, but resembled the light, practical riding attire worn by horsewomen—a martial-style robe of fine brocade. It allowed her to move freely, while still featuring delicate patterns along the collar and cuffs, clearly marking it as women’s clothing at a glance.

Zhang Xingjian straightened her collar for her, then moved around behind her to help arrange the elaborate leather belt at her waist.

He said, smiling: “I had these commissioned a while back. They only just arrived a couple of days ago… once you come back to Dongjing with me, there’ll be plenty more like these.

“Whenever I attend banquets with my second sister and see some other lady wearing something novel, I always take note if I think it would look lovely on you. See if you like it…”

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Qingwu turned, wrapped her arms around his neck, and threw herself into his embrace with great enthusiasm.

Overwhelmed with emotion and unable to put it into words, she buried her face in the warmth of his neck instead, turning her head to press a light kiss there.

Zhang Xingjian’s eyes softened, one arm wrapping loosely around the warm, ardent woman in his arms, his neck tickling under the touch of her breath.

She held herself carefully in check, because he had told her before—

Not to kiss the parts of his skin that might be visible outside his clothing.

Shen Qingwu had truly taken this to heart.

Afraid of leaving a mark, she didn’t even touch his lips, releasing her feelings only on the back of his neck, where no one would ever see.

Zhang Xingjian suppressed the impulse rising in him, smiling: “There, there.”

Shen Qingwu said, a little sulky: “Do you especially enjoy dressing me up?”

Zhang Xingjian’s eyes curved: “Oh, you’ve noticed?”

She lifted her face, meeting his eyes.

Zhang Xingjian admitted: “I do have a bit of… ahem, an unusual fondness for it, but I don’t think it’s anything so terrible. I like giving you different clothes to wear. And when I have time, I also enjoy watching you try different styles of makeup…”

Shen Qingwu stated flatly: “You’re treating me like a plaything.”

Zhang Xingjian’s gaze flickered.

He truly did have a rather playful streak, long suppressed, known to few.

Whenever he encountered something he liked, he couldn’t help but test it out, bit by bit…

Zhang Xingjian lowered his eyes: “I’m sorry, if you don’t like it…”

Shen Qingwu made him look up: “I never said I didn’t like it. Zhang Yuelu, I’ll let you have your fun.”

His eyes lit up at once.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, his voice hoarse: “What kind of treasure have I gone and found here…”

He’d always known Shen Qingwu was uniquely special—even when she’d been slow to understand her own feelings, he’d loved her; now that she’d come into her own, he found himself loving her without bounds.

And so, when Shen Qingwu was about to head out one day, Zhang Xingjian wrapped his arms around her waist and begged: “Don’t go out yet. Play with me a while.”

Shen Qingwu: “…”

Shen Qingwu said: “We can play, but I want to go to the bed.”

Zhang Xingjian: “…”

Zhang Xingjian hesitated.

Having been raised to practice self-reflection, restraint, and detachment from earthly desire, he found himself both curious and resistant toward such openly, ah, carnal indulgence in broad daylight. His instincts and his reason fought a tug-of-war within him, and he wasn’t even sure what he himself wanted.

Standing before Shen Qingwu’s blunt directness, Zhang Xingjian went momentarily blank.

By the time he came back to himself, the pale blue-white bed curtain had already been pulled shut, and he’d been pushed onto the bed.

Zhang Xingjian’s lashes trembled once.

Shen Qingwu reassured him: “I’ve drawn the curtain closed. No need to be afraid.”

Zhang Xingjian: “…I’m not exactly afraid… never mind.”—

Zhang Xingjian’s inner conflict left Shen Qingwu less than satisfied.

Someone here couldn’t let loose, couldn’t have any real fun.

Shen Qingwu noticed, but said nothing further about it.

The moon was, after all, an inherently contradictory kind of moon.

What he longed for, and what had bound him for so many years, had always pulled in opposite directions. When he boldly took a step forward, when he went after what he wanted, he believed himself ready—but he wasn’t truly ready at all.

In Shen Qingwu’s eyes, Zhang Xingjian, though entertaining, still left something to be desired.

Take, for instance, his habit of never easily removing his clothes;

Take his persistent insistence that she wash up and brush her teeth first;

Take how, whenever bright light was involved, he made every excuse to keep her from looking, so that even now she’d never gotten a clear view of his body, let alone anything else;

Take how he clearly wanted her, wanted to touch her chest, wanted to explore her waist, and yet hesitated at every crucial moment…

No matter.

It wasn’t appropriate for Shen Qingwu to use brute force on him, wasn’t appropriate to deliberately push him or torment him into it—she decided to take things slowly instead.

Shen Qingwu came to a sudden realization: it seemed the road of love and passion still had quite a long way left to go.

Her willingness to give things a try with Zhang Xingjian wasn’t the settled conclusion of a relationship—it was only the beginning.

If the two of them didn’t manage to smooth things out between them, perhaps they still wouldn’t end up together after all.

Sunlight fell through the small window lattice, and the shameless Shen Qingwu, her hair a mess, sat on the edge of the bed, tying up the complicated leather belt, then bent down to pull on her boots.

The curtain hung behind her, and not a sound came from within it.

As Shen Qingwu rose to her feet, a low cough sounded from inside.

Shen Qingwu had already reached the door when the choked sound behind the curtain grew increasingly urgent.

Shen Qingwu had no choice but to turn back: “I’ll tell people we sparred and I got your clothes dirty—have your loyal retainers bring you a fresh set. Stop coughing, I heard you.”

Zhang Xingjian was silent for a long moment.

Zhang Xingjian said: “…I actually wanted to discuss something with you.”

Shen Qingwu said: “Should I sit and wait, then?”

Zhang Xingjian sighed with a laugh: “Given my current condition, do you think it’s wise for me to linger this long in your room? It would only invite endless speculation.”

The gentler his tone grew, the more wary Shen Qingwu became.

Shen Qingwu said briskly: “We’ll talk about it tomorrow, then.”—

The next day, as Zhang Xingjian changed Shen Qingwu into fresh clothing, he finally brought up the important matter he’d wanted to discuss.

Zhang Xingjian said: “I kept getting interrupted by you before, and never got around to it.”

Shen Qingwu thought to herself: that’s on your own lack of willpower.

Zhang Xingjian mused for a moment, unaware of her private thoughts. What he said aloud carried a note of caution: “My parasol tree, I don’t think it would be wise, once we’ve crossed the river and gone to see the Imperial Princess in the camp, to reveal our relationship openly.”

Shen Qingwu showed no particular reaction.

Zhang Xingjian couldn’t quite work out what she was thinking.

Afraid she might misunderstand, he explained patiently: “You can bring me to see the Imperial Princess, since I count, after all, as your… prisoner. But by ordinary reasoning, you and I stand on opposite sides. I understand you’re not my enemy, of course, but if you’re seen constantly in my company, others might well misread it.

“If the Imperial Princess, or your fellow soldiers, come to feel your loyalty is compromised, you’ll find yourself pushed to the margins within the camp.”

He was thinking of her interests: “I’m still not sure what the Imperial Princess will do, or whether I’ll end up opposing her, but this clearly isn’t the moment to shake hands and make peace with her. I would never let you become my enemy, and I won’t drag you into my conflict with her before the dust has even settled.”

Shen Qingwu looked at him.

Afraid she might be upset, Zhang Xingjian wrapped an arm around her waist to soothe her: “Don’t worry. Once I’ve come to terms with the Imperial Princess, once she agrees to let me take you away, we can close the door behind us and never worry about your fellow soldiers discovering our relationship at all.”

Something seemed to occur to him.

His eyes shimmered with a rippling light, a flush rising unbidden along his neck: “…at that point, we can do whatever we like, in private.”

Shen Qingwu: …Why are you blushing?

Shen Qingwu said: “Fine.”

Zhang Xingjian froze.

Zhang Xingjian stepped back and studied her: “You’re not upset?”

Shen Qingwu said: “Why would I be upset?”

Zhang Xingjian said: “I just told you we’d have to hide our relationship, that you’d have to act hostile toward me—and you feel nothing at all about that?”

Shen Qingwu said: “Didn’t you say this was for the sake of your bigger plans? Didn’t you say you’ll be taking me away soon anyway? Your negotiation with the Imperial Princess should go quickly, shouldn’t it? Given how persuasive you are, I doubt it’ll take very long.”

Zhang Xingjian gritted his teeth.

Zhang Xingjian asked: “So you don’t feel the slightest disappointment? Don’t feel I’ve wronged you in any way? Don’t feel aggrieved, don’t feel reluctant to be apart from me? You’ve never worried that I might let the pretense become real, and truly stop caring for you?”

Shen Qingwu was thoroughly confused by all this.

Shen Qingwu said, baffled: “Didn’t we already swear to be together? How could that be pretense?”

Zhang Xingjian could barely manage to laugh anymore: “Are you and I only together because of that vow?! Do you have to stay with me only because you once said you would? Are you being controlled by that vow, rather than acting from your own true heart?”

He was growing a little angry: “You’re not the least bit worried about being deceived?”

Shen Qingwu said: “Deceive me? If you dared deceive me, I’d dare kill you.”

Zhang Xingjian froze for a moment, and his expression softened somewhat.

He teased her, needling: “Well, then… never mind, guarding that broken vow of yours suits you fine.”

Shen Qingwu hadn’t the faintest idea what he meant.

She had no way of knowing the melancholy weighing on Zhang Xingjian’s heart—his suspicion that she didn’t really care that much about him.

He felt she wasn’t especially fond of him.

Otherwise… how could she have accepted his proposal with such utter indifference?

Just as she herself had said, she didn’t know whether she loved him.

Perhaps she did.

Perhaps she felt nothing at all.

Perhaps she’d simply been driven, by his own actions, into a corner where she had no choice but to speak up and keep him—

Believing that Shen Qingwu wasn’t especially fond of him, Zhang Xingjian began to feel a certain sense of crisis.

The next time they set out, Zhang Xingjian called Shen Qingwu to a stop.

Shen Qingwu had grown a little wary of him these past few days—

She couldn’t make sense of his moods, shifting between sun and storm without warning.

She took a deep breath and turned to face the difficult Zhang Xingjian.

Zhang Xingjian pointed to his own waist.

Shen Qingwu looked for a long while.

He was naturally blessed, of course—handsome no matter what he wore. Whether in a tight martial robe or a loose scholar’s gown, he carried a different, elegant beauty in each. And now, as he pointed to his waist… Shen Qingwu found herself thinking of the shape of it, faintly visible beneath his clothes.

Her heart beat a little faster.

Shen Qingwu nodded: “Very handsome.”

Zhang Xingjian stared at her.

Shen Qingwu blinked.

Shen Qingwu approached tentatively, gently wrapping an arm around his waist.

Startled, and fearing a repeat of the confusion from a few days before, he stepped back: “What are you doing?”

Shen Qingwu said: “I wasn’t flattering you—your waist really is quite handsome.”

Zhang Xingjian: “…”

Shen Qingwu lowered her head, giving it a fond, reluctant squeeze; his body went rigid, and she said, calm and puzzled: “But personally, I think that if you don’t enjoy going to bed in broad daylight, you shouldn’t keep drawing my attention to your waist. Little do you know…”

She leaned in close to his ear and murmured a few words.

Zhang Xingjian looked at her.

He was startled into laughter.

Half flushed, half amused despite himself.

He said: “You scoundrel.”

Zhang Xingjian, both flustered and helpless: “I wasn’t asking you to look at my waist. I was asking you to look at the pendant below it.”

Shen Qingwu: “…”

She felt a little embarrassed, and under his teasing gaze, sheepishly and yet with an air of composure, withdrew her hand from his waist. She lowered her head to examine what he’d actually wanted her to see, and it wasn’t hard to recognize at all:

“Ah, you’re wearing that pendant!”

Shen Qingwu’s expression stiffened slightly.

She remembered now.

This pendant was the “dragon” half of the dragon-and-phoenix pair Zhang Xingjian had spoken of; the “phoenix” was supposed to be with her.

He’d never worn it openly before, and Shen Qingwu had assumed he didn’t care much about it, which had suited her fine.

But today, of all days, he’d worn it out where she could see.

Shen Qingwu looked down, studying the pendant carefully.

Zhang Xingjian said with a soft laugh: “I plan to wear it every day from now on. You don’t have any objection, do you?”

Shen Qingwu said slowly: “…And what if I do?”

Zhang Xingjian countered: “Why would you object? Have I ever forced you to take off the pendant that… other person gave you?”

Shen Qingwu thought, you haven’t forced me, but every single time we’ve done anything together, you’ve always insisted I take it off first. It’s honestly become such a hassle that I barely feel like wearing it at all anymore these days…

You not forcing it is worse than forcing it.

Zhang Xingjian said gently: “My parasol tree, didn’t we agree on this, back then? If you wanted to be with me, you’d wear the pendant to hint at it. Why haven’t I seen any sign of it?”

Shen Qingwu thought to herself: he absolutely cannot find out that the pendant broke and got thrown away.

So Shen Qingwu said instead: “Why should I need to hint at it? I’ve already told you outright.”

Zhang Xingjian remained composed: “True, you have already told me outright, and I’m very happy about it. But I think it’s only fitting for lovers to wear matching dragon-and-phoenix pendants. I’ve already worn mine to show my devotion—where’s yours?”

Shen Qingwu, equally composed: “My devotion is carefully hidden away.”

Seeing she wasn’t budging, Zhang Xingjian made his meaning plain: “Shen Qingwu, wear the pendant I gave you.”

Shen Qingwu said crisply: “No.”

Zhang Xingjian froze.

Her refusal came so quickly that he began to wonder whether the time simply wasn’t right yet—whether he was being too impatient, and might frighten her off.

Having already resolved to just tell Zhang Xingjian the truth and let the chips fall where they may, Shen Qingwu watched as Zhang Xingjian softened his tone, kindly offering her an excuse: “Is it because you were angry with me before, and threw the pendant I gave you somewhere back in the camp, never once wearing it out?”

As if possessed.

Shen Qingwu said slowly: “…mm…”

What did “mm” even mean?

Zhang Xingjian was baffled.

Zhang Xingjian ventured: “So once we go to the camp together, once we’ve seen the Imperial Princess, once you’ve come out with me again—you’ll wear the pendant then?”

Shen Qingwu looked up at the sky.

Zhang Xingjian said: “My parasol tree?”

Shen Qingwu kept her answer vague: “Mm…”

What did that “mm” even mean?!

Shen Qingwu began considering how to dig herself out of this hole.

Could she start now, learning to carve jade pendants, learning to make up for it—would there even be time?

Zhang Xingjian had said, of himself, that he’d never carved a jade pendant before; he’d said it was his first attempt, that every bit of his feeling had gone into it. It was the first gift he’d ever given a woman in his life, the first time he’d ever offered his love to anyone—how could Shen Qingwu bear to let him find out he’d been betrayed?

If he could manage to carve a fine pendant on his very first attempt, surely she could too.

Still, Zhang Xingjian probably didn’t remember absolutely everything with perfect clarity—

She asked Zhang Xingjian: “That painting you taught me to draw back then—do you still have it?”

Zhang Xingjian looked puzzled.

Shen Qingwu said: “The one called ‘Parasol Tree Gazing at the Moon.'”

Zhang Xingjian sank into recollection.

Shen Qingwu decided to try picking a fight, the way other people did: “You threw it away, didn’t you? See, you’re the terrible one—you’re the one who discarded something we shared, you’re the one who’s wronged me. I’m going to stay angry with you for a few days over this.”

She turned her back to him, and let out a breath of relief.

But Zhang Xingjian laughed: “How could I have thrown it away? I was just thinking about where I put it… that painting is in Dongjing. You’ll see it once you come back to Dongjing with me. But why do you ask about the painting?”

Shen Qingwu deflated.

She answered: “…No particular reason, just asking.”

If she didn’t want to see the devastated look on Zhang Xingjian’s face, she’d better start learning to carve jade pendants tonight—

And so, carrying such different feelings in their hearts, the two of them crossed the river, changed horses over several days, and arrived at the Yizhou army camp to meet Li Linggo.

The moment they entered the camp, Shen Qingwu had someone announce their arrival, then had a soldier escort Zhang Xingjian to meet the Imperial Princess, while she herself strode off without a backward glance.

Zhang Xingjian stood rooted in place, watching her walk off without so much as turning her head.

Zhang Xingjian: “…”

He had indeed said the two of them should pretend not to get along, but was she overdoing it just a bit?

She hadn’t even given him a single glance.

Never mind what anyone else might think—even Zhang Xingjian himself was beginning to wonder whether Shen Qingwu truly despised him, truly resented him.

Just as Zhang Xingjian’s mood turned strangely sour, a soldier said respectfully: “Master Zhang, this way, please. The Imperial Princess has been awaiting you eagerly since receiving General Shen’s message.”

And so Zhang Xingjian went to see Li Linggo, while Shen Qingwu greeted the camp and headed off to find a craftsman.

Before she left, she also slipped the jade pendant off Zhang Xingjian’s waist without him noticing.

Her martial skill was simply too great, her hands too quick—he had no idea whatsoever. She’d return the pendant to him in time when he came out, ensuring he never felt a thing, start to finish.

Hurry, hurry.

Shen Qingwu walked without a backward glance, moving swift as the wind—she absolutely could not let Zhang Xingjian discover her little act of cheating.